6/1/11 Health district building purchase answers economic needs

  • By Nick Sabo
  • June 1, 2011
  • 265
                        
SUMMARY: Health district's desire to build own facility a dream deferred The purchase of the Holmes County Health District building by Pomerene Hospital meets current economic realities head-on. In a time when the Ohio legislature and Governor are pushing consolidation, it places the health district under the same roof as Holmes County Job and Family Services. With promises of no new funding for at least the next two years to county government, it pays the tab for the district’s rent while providing needed revenue for HCJFS. It also takes away the health district’s largest asset, putting off hopes of a new clinic and offices indefinitely. The sale price of $300,000 was announced Thursday May 26 after a meeting between the Holmes County Commissioners, Health Commissioner Dr. D.J. McFadden, HCJFS Director Dan Jackson and Pomerene Hospital CEO Tony Snyder. The meeting brought together new players in what has been on-again, off-again negotiations between the hospital and the health district: Talk of acquisition of the building by the hospital date back to at least 1989, according to Snyder. In 2003, an offer of $2 million was made and refused. Then, the district’s goal was to build a new clinic on land it had recently acquired on Glen Drive in Millersburg, McFadden said. The purchase price of the old health district building would fund the construction for the new. The deal struck by the four bargaining entities May 26 will see the $300,000 paid over nine years to HCJFS to cover the health district’s rent of the HCJFS building’s third floor. It ensures the health district a home for almost a decade, and HCJFS has a new tenant after a program for youths suspended from the public school systems had to leave the building, also for financial reasons. The program, Project STAY, paid $13,000 annually for use of the third floor, Jackson said. The quarterly payment has not been set, Jackson said. If the $300,000 is broken down evenly over nine years and divided by quarters, the payments would come in at at approximately $8,334, or $33,000 a year. The space at HCJFS is approximately 5,000 square feet, McFadden said. The clinic and offices at 931 Wooster Road occupy approximately 6,000 square feet. The purchase was made through the Pomerene Foundation. The hospital will take possession of the building in August, Snyder said. However, the hospital has no immediate plans for the building, Snyder said. The clinic will remain in place after the health district moves its operations to the HCJFS building and will stay open, rent-free, through the end of the year. Holmes County Commissioner Rob Ault said sale was prompted by HCJFS’s need for a new tenant, the aging health district building, and general revenue declines across the board. “With the federal cuts, we’re looking at ways to downsize,” Ault said. “We have to come up with better ways of doing business. We’re all going through this. I thank the leadership (involved), without all of them working together this wouldn’t have happened.” As part of the purchase agreement, Pomerene has further agreed to pay for a $5,200 repair to the building’s air conditioning system. The agencies involved are, across the board, headed by different leadership than the last round of negotiations in 2003. McFadden said there is a good working relationship all around. “When there is a need, it’s time to discuss what’s really important,” McFadden said. “The situation doesn’t allow much space to stand in the way of what’s good for the county. In this instance, we have individuals with the same goals.” The saving won’t just be realized by the health district and HCJFS. Ault said the commissioners are responsible for maintenance of the building, and “a major repair, like a roof” would require a capitol outlay they might have trouble meeting. Pomerene finally has the ability to expand to the south, though expansion right now seems to be far into the future, Snyder said. Besides, Snyder said, the hospital likes having the health clinic within walking distance. Were it not for the clinic, Pomerene’s ER might be the only recourse for patients without insurance. Keeping the clinic where it is also makes it easier for clients to walk across the street to have tests and X-rays performed, McFadden said. Snyder said he sees an opportunity in the vacated office space as well, partnering with the health district to provide wellness services. “The hospital and health department (can) start looking at wellness, instead of sickness,” Snyder said. “I could see that as being a public/private collaboration.” The health district purchased the land on Glen Drive for $381,150, closing the deal July 16, 2003. Today, its tax value is $115,500, according to Holmes County Auditor records, though tax value does not always represent market value. The land was purchased using money from the health district’s Hospice program. The 2.31 acre site was to be home to the new health district clinic and offices, as well as home to Hospice. McFadden said the future of the land remains tied to Hospice. He said a new health district building is not in the foreseeable future. “The hope was to take the sale of the building and have enough to build new,” McFadden said. “It’s hard to give up a dream, when you have a desire to build your own facilities the way you want it. Every time there’s a dream deferred, you have that sense of loss. I see us being at (HCJFS) through the remainder of my tenure.” Jackson said someday housing the clinic as well as the offices “is a distinct possibility”. “If it’s better for the hospital and health board, then yes, we’ll work out how to make it fit upstairs,” Jackson said. Jackson said the move is a nice fit because many of the health district’s clients also utilize services offered through HCJFS.


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